Up 5-4, 40-30 in the third set, sophomore Neena Feldman tracked down her Illinois’ opponent’s shot and fired a cross-court forehand that zipped past her opponent and landed in to win the match.
Feldman’s excitement was palpable after her passing-shot winner, but just moments later, Northwestern’s hopes were dashed.
Sophomore Autumn Rabjohns’ forehand flew long after an opponent slice, landing the Fighting Illini (1-1, 0-0 Big Ten) a 4-2 win over the Wildcats (1-1, 0-0 Big Ten).
NU traveled south down Interstate 57 to take on Illinois in an unconventional nonconference matchup between the Big Ten teams. Saturday’s results did not impact the teams’ conference records.
While most teams in the country participated in ITA Kickoff Weekend to attempt to qualify for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, both NU and Illinois had their schedules empty. As hosts of the Indoor Championships, both schools receive automatic entry and do not have to partake in ITA Kickoff Weekend. The programs scheduled this match as a result.
Early on, the doubles matches inside Atkins Tennis Center went in a variety of directions on each of the three courts.
At the No. 1 doubles spot, senior Sydney Pratt and freshman Erica Jessel traded holds to even the match at 2-2. Meanwhile, the No. 2 pairing of graduate student Britany Lau and freshman Mika Dagan Fruchtman — the No. 42 doubles team in the nation — obtained an early 3-0 double-break lead. On the final doubles court, Feldman and freshman Maia Loureiro found themselves in a 4-1 double-break hole.
Jessel and Pratt’s match remained close, but they were eventually broken at 4-4, allowing their opponents to serve it out and claim a 6-4 win.
But the tides quickly turned in the other two matches. Lau and Dagan Fruchtman’s double break lead was erased at 5-5, and Feldman and Loureiro evened the match at 4-4 by winning three straight games.
At 5-5, 40-30 on return, Dagan Fruchtman hit a forehand crosscourt passing shot winner, and on the ensuing point at 40-40, the duo went up a break with Lau’s volley smash. With Dagan Fruchtman serving, an Illinois backhand went long on match point to give the NU doubles pairing the 7-5 win.
By then, the doubles point depended on Feldman and Loureiro, who were seeking an improbable comeback. The two were broken at 5-5, giving the Fighting Illini duo a chance to serve it out, but a break back sent the match to a tiebreak for the doubles point. Ultimately, it was Illinois’ duo of Violeta Martinez and Alice Xu who won 7-3 in the tiebreak.
Singles play proved to be a promising start for the ’Cats despite their 1-0 deficit.
At the bottom of the singles lineup, Pratt — playing at the No. 6 — won her first set 6-2. No. 5 Feldman followed suit with a 6-3 early lead and No. 4 Rabjohns took the opening set 6-2.
After falling down to an early 3-0 deficit, Lau — slotting in at the No. 3 spot — came back to steal the first set 7-5. Meanwhile, No. 1 Dagan Fruchtman and No. 2 Jessel both lost in tiebreakers in the first set.
With four of the six first sets in hand, the ’Cats were in a strong position to win, even without the doubles point.
Dagan Fruchtman, facing Illinois’ McKenna Schaefbauer — the nation’s No. 109 singles player — collapsed in the second set for a 7-6(2), 6-2 defeat, the first loss of her career. Pratt soon made up for the freshman’s defeat with a 6-2, 7-5 win. At this point, the ’Cats trailed 2-1.
But the second sets didn’t go NU’s way. Lau, Rabjohns and Feldman all went to third sets with 6-1, 6-2 and 7-6(2) defeats in their second sets, respectively. Jessel lost her second set as well, losing her match 7-6(4), 6-4.
With NU down 3-1, it needed to win each of its third sets for a comeback. The ’Cats came close, but they couldn’t quite cross the finish line.
Feldman’s star-studded third set play earned her a 6-3, 6(2)-7, 6-4 win, but within just a minute, Rabjohns fell in her match 2-6, 6-2, 6-2, which gave Illinois the clinching point for a 4-2 home win.
Lau’s match was unfinished with her in the lead at 7-5, 1-6, 5-4 against the nation’s No. 111 singles player in Martinez.
NU returned to Combe Tennis Center Sunday, sweeping both DePaul and Eastern Illinois 4-0 in a doubleheader. The ’Cats return to action Sunday at noon when they host Georgia Tech.
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